Change
by Asuto Hotaru
Summary: [Sequel to Stability] The letter fell from Ron Weasley's hands, which were now shaking terribly. This was so wrong. It couldn't be. It just couldn't be. He had promised! He promised... RWDM, DMRW


**Author's Note: SEQUEL TO 'STABILITY'! YOU SHOULD DEFINITELY READ THAT ONE FIRST!!!!!!!!!!!  
**

** Warnings: **

**Pairings: Ron x Draco**

**Fic type: Yaoi/Shounen Ai/Slash, Oneshot, MPreg (You have been warned!)  
**

**Rating: It's rated M, even though it really shouldn't be, since it's so... un-described... but I didn't want to take a chance at someone barking about my rating it wrong.**

**Other: Mostly Ron's POV, though in third person. Um... OOCness, but mostly intentional. In my opinion, people act different when they are in love, so I felt free to twist the characters some. Also, there are some situations in here where they DEFINITELY would act different than they normally would! Plus, Draco's changed, remember? In the first one?  
**

**So please read on, and reviews would be much welcomed! Oh, and if you flame, please note that it will be laughed at, printed out and used to light my fire the next time I go camping in the woods. A-thank you.**

-- 

The letter fell from Ron Weasley's hands, which were now shaking terribly. This was so wrong. It couldn't be. It just couldn't be. He had promised! He promised...

Not now, not now, Gods... Ron choked on a sob, trying not to cry. The letter had been from Draco, which he had received just the day before. It was rare that his beloved got a chance to write to him, as, with the war, any intercepted letter could become a fatal mistake. He would reread each letter over and over again, until the next came, waiting for the end of the war, when he could finally see his love once more. But the war was over now. The final battle had taken place just early that day, and the dark lord was vanquished. Ron hadn't been able to fight in the battle because of his current... Condition, but he had never thought... The war was over, but...

But the letter was from yesterday, and he still hadn't seen Draco. And if what Tonks and Kingsley were telling him they had seen was true, then he would never see him again. That just wasn't right. It couldn't be. Draco Malfoy couldn't possibly be dead.

He just couldn't be dead. He didn't even know about their _child. _It just didn't feel right to tell him about the pregnancy (for male pregnancy was perfectly common in the wizarding world, if two individuals really loved each other) over a letter, and the thought of how Draco's face would light up when he told him about it had kept Ron going on the days that it was tough to be without him.

He had known for a long time now. He was just over eight months along and Draco had left just about eight months ago. That night had been amazing, the night before Draco left, and it had been one of many times that they had switched from their previously set roles of Ron being on top, dominating Draco. He wished more than anything that he would have just told Draco in one of his letters, dangerous or not, whether he got to see the reaction or not. At least then Draco would have known.

"I'm so sorry, Ron," Tonks said, slowly approaching the still rather young boy, "There was nothing we could do to help him. Everyone was wrapped up in the battle... We're not even sure who it was that blasted him backwards into the river. Must not have been who he was fightin', though; Draco wouldn't go down that easy otherwise." Tonks chuckled, "He took two with him though. Even flying through the air, he was still spitting out curses at the Death Eaters." Her face turned remorseful, "We weren't able to find his body, with those currents... God, I'm so sorry, Ron." She took the pregnant boy into her arms and sobbed, holding his head to her shoulder. Ron said nothing, and made no movement to pull away from her or to move closer. He stood completely still, and hardly seemed to be breathing.

Draco was dead. But Draco couldn't be dead, he had promised. He had promised that he would come back to him, and yet he had gone and gotten himself killed. It wasn't fair... Ron felt himself go from shocked to angry. He was angry at Draco for dieing, at the Order, for not only making Draco go, but for not watching his back when he needed them, he was angry at the Death Eaters, for killing him, and also at fate, for being so cruel to him. Self-loathing filled him as well, as he couldn't help but think that he should have been there, that he should have been fighting alongside his love, should have been there to protect him. Suddenly he was beginning to hate the baby inside him, for keeping him away, and fell deeper into his despair when he realized it.

His stomach hurt, everything hurt, but most of the pain was shooting from his abdominal area, and he pulled away from Tonks, crumpling onto the ground, whimpering at the pain, both physical and emotional. Tonks and Kingsley, as well as many others in the room, were at his side at once, but he could hardly register their presence through the stabbing pain. Before he could comprehend anything more than pain, he was suddenly laying in a pool of some kind of liquid, feeling as if something had broken inside of him.

"Move aside, move aside!" Ron knew that it was Madame Pomfrey's voice, but somehow he couldn't see her. Oh, his eyes were clenched shut, that would explain it. "Oh dear, he's already in labor, his water has broken."

"What? He can't be! He's barely eight months along!" Molly Weasley sounded devastated, and worried for her youngest son.

"He is, Molly, probably because of the stress, but we don't have time to argue," Madame Pomfrey was taking charge now, shouting out orders, "Tonks, I need you to go ahead of us and sterilize the area around Ron's bed. Arthur, Remus, grab Ron and take him up there after words. We need to hurry, but don't go so fast that you'll hurt him. Molly, come up with us, he's going to want to hold someones hand during this, I'm sure. Severus, go find the strongest pain relieving potion that you have, something that's enough to dull the pain, but so that he can still feel it enough to know when to push. Ron, listen to me carefully: do _not_ push until I tell you to, understand? You could seriously injure yourself or the baby, and this is going to be dangerous enough with how early you are."

Ron felt himself being lifted, and winced. Next thing he knew, he was being taken upstairs, as it had been deemed to dangerous to apparate with the baby. By the time they had gotten up to Ron's (previously Ron and Draco's) room, Tonks had already sterilized everything with a few spells Madame Pomfrey had taught her just in case something like this happened.

"Alright," Madame Pomfrey barked, "Everyone but family _out_." Molly took her place by Ron's side, and Arthur Weasley paced by the door as Ron was stripped of his pants and Madame Pomfrey checked how dilated he was. "Alright, Ron, just relax, deep breaths now."

Ron tried, but his breathing was irregular and he couldn't seem to get it to calm down. He sobbed, and wondered how long he had been crying. This just wasn't right. He never even dreamed that he would end up having this baby without Draco by his side. They had known for months that the war would wind down to an end soon, and he had always believed that Draco would come back to him, like he had promised. He had waited. Suddenly, fear cut through him like a hot knife.

"Mum..." he breathed out between contractions, "The baby'll... Be alright... Won't it?" What if it's lungs weren't fully developed yet? What if he had already lost it, and it was dead inside of him?

His mother never answered, only squeezed his hand a little tighter. He wanted to scream. He had already lost Draco, he knew that losing this baby, the only part of Draco that he had left, would kill him. Ron had never believed in 'God', even though he used the name in curses quite often, but for the first time in his life, he closed his eyes and began to pray that any ultimate power out there would have mercy on him in this.

Then again, if that power existed, it had also taken Draco away from him, hadn't it? Not a very reliable track-record.

--

Draco Malfoy coughed, as he had been doing ever since he had crawled out of the raging river behind him, just over ten minutes ago. He needed to get home. He needed to see Ron. He need to let him know that he was safe, as the others were probably certain that he was dead. He himself didn't know how he had made it, but he certainly wasn't about to complain. He just wanted to go home and lay down next to his lover all night long. They didn't have to make love, not tonight, as long as he could just hold his beloved close, Draco would be more than happy. They could make love all they wanted for the rest of their lives if they wanted, so Draco was in no hurry to feel anything more than the intoxicating presence of the one person he truly loved in this entire world. He supposed that wasn't entirely true anymore, because even though it was a different kind of love, Draco definitely cared for his redhead's family as well. He apparated with a loud crack.

--

When Draco entered number twelve Grimwald Place, he was met with stares of disbelief from the Order members. For people who knew that ghosts existed and a few who even saw them on a day to day basis, he found this not only overblown but depressing.

"Malfoy!" Draco looked around to find Hermione Granger, looking at him with big eyes. "How did you--?"

"I'll explain later," he answered, trying to get the point across that he was tired, "I just want to see Ron."

"Oh, _Ron!!_" she gasped, as if remembering something, "Draco, Ron's in labor right now, come with me!"

"He's _what_?" Draco asked, certain that he'd misheard.

"He didn't _tell_ you?!" She looked about frantically, then gathered her composure once more, "Just come with me..."

Draco nodded and followed.

--

Ron was being smothered by pain. All of the pain-relieving potions had been used in the after effects of the final battle, and, though Snape was doing his best to make more, there was simply no way it would be done in time for him. Already, he was being told to push, and dammit, that somehow only made the pain _worse_!

So, he didn't hear as someone else entered the room. He didn't hear the slight dripping from said person's robe as river water fell to the floor. He didn't hear his mother's gasp and didn't see his father's stunned expression or his mum hugging the new comer, looking relieved. What he felt, however, was the absence of his mother's hand, and then the feeling of another hand, a familiar, different hand, slipping into his own.

He smiled slightly, even through the pain, and figured that there _must_ be some sort of omnipresent force out there, because even though his love was dead, and his baby had a very good chance of joining his or her father as soon as it was born, he could feel Draco's hand in his. It must have been an illusion, he supposed, an act of kindness from his parents, or perhaps he was dieing too. That wouldn't have been so bad. After all, perhaps if there was a higher power, there was a Heaven as well. That would be nice. Still, he feared what he would see if he opened his eyes, and they remained clenched shut.

"Good work, Ronald," came Madame Pomfrey's voice from beyond his veil of pain. "Now just push a few more times..."

Ron did as he was told, and then suddenly he knew the baby was out. He kept his eyes closed, but smiled when he heard a weak, but persistent cry from a baby. His baby.

"Well done, Ron," he heard Madame Pomfrey congratulate him. "He's weak, but he'll be fine, his lungs seem to be well enough developed that they will be able to sustain him."

He felt a kiss on the right side of his forehead and wondered why he was still having this dream that Draco was there, if it was all over. "Open your eyes, Love. Don't you want to see our son?"

Ron opened his eyes...

And screamed.

--

Draco didn't understand what had freaked Ron so badly about seeing him. Still, he did know that Ron screaming was a bad thing, and even though Ron had stopped yelling, the baby, now nestled securely in his arms, was now crying. Ron was thoughtlessly rocking the baby, staring at Draco with eyes that were, at first, wide, and then angry. Accusing.

"How dare you." Ron's words came out as a hiss, and Draco didn't understand. Ron continued, louder, "How dare you pose as my..." Ron shook his head, "If you're a Death Eater, it won't work. We all already know that Draco is dead, and now you're surrounded. If you're a member of the Order, you're just making things worse, you know. Pretending to be Draco will only make getting over his death that much harder."

Draco's eyes softened. Had Ron given up on him so easily? Well, he _should_ have died, all things considered, but did Ron really think that he would break his promise, just when the war was finally ending? "Ron, it's me, Draco. I swear to you, it's me." Draco took a step forward.

Ron nearly faltered, but his eyes remained firm. "Stay away!" Draco stopped in his approach, and stood stone still. He couldn't risk Ron getting over emotional. He should be resting right now, anyway, and this couldn't be good for him. Why didn't anyone else calm Ron down? Then it hit him: they were now beginning to suspect him as well.

"If I was going to hurt you or the little one, I would have done it already," Draco said, trying to remain calm. He knew that his voice, when he spoke like this, normally had a soothing affect on the redhead, but now it only seemed to enrage him. "Ron, why didn't you tell me? About the baby, I mean."

"I just wanted it to be a surprise..." Ron shook his head violently, as if to remind himself that this person before him wasn't _his_ Draco. "It's none of your business, _imposter!_"

"Ron, Love, ask me anything. Ask me something that only I would know."

Ron seemed to think about it. Draco could only hope that his love would give him a chance to prove himself. "When I kissed you for the first time... What did you say to me afterwards?"

Draco smiled at the memory, and at his lover's wit. No one else had been around when Ron had kissed him in the library, and most people would probably guess that what he had said was either a confession of love, or a snide insult. Gods, Ron always did think best under pressure. And looked damn sexy doing it.

"I didn't say anything," Draco answered, smiling, "I was confused, because I knew that I liked your kiss, and that somehow I didn't mind that it was _you_ kissing me. I had never questioned myself before that, or been at a loss for words, but you inspired both in me."

Ron was crying softly now, "Oh, Draco...!"

Draco crossed the room again quickly, crawling onto the bed and hovering over his love and their new child before carefully leaning in, careful not to crush either of them, and placing a soft, loving kiss on lips he had dreamt of for the past eight months while he had been away. They kissed for a while and, after transfiguring a crib for the baby, the other Weasleys and Madame Pomfrey left the two grown men and their child to be alone.

"I'm so sorry, Draco, I just didn't think..."

"That I was ever coming back, I know. The others must have really given you a scare."

"Enough of a scare that I went into labor a whole month early," Ron chuckled, "God, I thought that I was alone."

"'God'? Draco asked with a smile, "I thought that you didn't believe in God?"

"Yeah, well, _someone_ scared me so much that I ended up praying my heart out today," Ron sent his lover a weak glare, which was received with another smile.

"You know," Draco grinned, moving to the side so that he could kiss Ron's neck without leaning against the baby, "You looked damn sexy when you were being all protective of our baby. Turned me on."

"Did it?" A feral grin came over the redhead's face, "Good to know I haven't lost my touch. When it comes to turning you on, I mean."

"Shit," Draco huffed, his voice becoming husky as his pants suddenly seemed much tighter. "All I wanted to do tonight was lay next to you..." His voice became soft and he licked the shell of Ron's ear before whispering into it, "but now I have a few other things in mind. Motherhood definitely suits you, Love."

"Hmm..." Ron turned his head to meet Draco's lips for a kiss, but pulled away before things got too heated, "Sounds wonderful love, but the baby comes first. He does need a name, you know."

Draco knew that Ron was right, and was impressed by his self-control, when he could feel that the other was just as turned on as he was, against his thigh. "I haven't had long to think about this, you know," he smiled, and Ron blushed slightly, "What did you have in mind?"

"Before... I was really thinking about Jasper..." Ron said, his ears turning red as well as he looked away from Draco's eyes, "But when they told me you were dead... I was going to name him Dray."

Draco smiled at the thought of his child being named after the nickname that Ron called him from time to time. "You can name him whatever you like, Love. I'm sure anything you choose will suit him wonderfully."

"How about Jasper Dray Weasley-Malfoy?"

"Sounds wonderful. But, Love? Leave off the Malfoy."

Ron looked shocked and hurt. "You don't... Want him?"

Draco realized what his statement must have sounded like, and kissed the other's face a few times, "No, no, no, Love, I want him. I want him and I want you. What I don't want is for him to be a Malfoy. _I_ don't even want to be a Malfoy. What I meant was--" Draco shook his head, trying to find the right words and getting more nervous by the moment. He decided to just spit it out, "Dammit, Ron, will you marry me?!" Ron sat there stunned for a few moments, and blinked. "I just... I thought that you should leave the 'Malfoy' off, because, if you say yes, I want to take on _your_ last name, I mean, if your family is okay with that..."

Ron sat in silence for a few more seconds, which was broken only by Mrs. Weasley shouting 'He proposed!' to the rest of the household (Apparently she was listening through the door).

"Draco..." Ron began, his voice soft, "Did you just ask me to marry you?"

"... Yes."

"Bloody hell."

Draco kept silent. This scene somehow seemed very familiar. It was almost like the first time he had told Ron that he loved him.

And then Ron was kissing him, and smiling against his lips, "Really? I'm happy, I'm so happy... I never thought that you... But you said you want to, so... Bloody hell, Draco, I love you so much, you have no idea how happy you've made me! Yes! Yes, yes, a hundred times yes!"

They kissed and there was silence again, except for Molly Weasley outside the door yelling 'He said yes!'.

The rest of the day went smoothly, with their friends and fellow Order members cooed over their redhead, pale skinned, silver eyed baby boy. Ron smiled softly, and slept some throughout the day, and Draco just stood out of the way, holding their little one whenever he got the chance, and smiling proudly over his little heir and new fiancé.

That night the two made love like never before, reaffirming their bond and switching roles and positions throughout the night. They never bothered to put a silencing charm on their room, like they normally would have, but no one in the house complained or did anything. Draco was back, and it was nice to see Ron happy again.

When they finally fell asleep for the night, little Jasper decided it the perfect moment to cry, but Draco was on it before Ron could awaken, and he hushed the baby quickly and effectively, sitting down in the room's new rocking chair, whispering soft, loving words and even singing softly every now and then. Ron, who had awoken despite Draco's best efforts, watched through the darkness with a smile on his face. He knew that Draco was worried about becoming like his father someday, but Ron wasn't worried. There were many differences that separated Draco from his father, but there was one that made all the difference.

Draco loved his son.

And Ron knew that Draco loved him as well, and he didn't have to worry about Draco leaving him ever again.

Owari. (The End.)

--

**Yay! I really like how that turned out, although it changed from the original plan. Then again, when do I ever stick to my original plan? Flustered Draco was so fun to right. That's something I really wish I could see. -Laughs.- Thank you all for reading!**


End file.
